TRUMP: There's no strategy. I have no strategy. There's zero strategy. All it is is, I'm pointing out facts. The most unsafe city in the country,

in our country is Baltimore. It's received as much money, it's -- it receives top of the line, billions of dollars. Somebody said, $15 billion

over a short period of time. All of this money goes there, and take a look at it. I don't have to describe it, take a look at it.

So there's no strategy. It's very simple. And Elijah Cummings is in charge of it. And he ought to take his Oversight Committee, and he ought

to park them in Baltimore and find out what happened to the $15 billion. And a lot of other money.

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: All right. President Donald Trump, there on the South Lawn, just returning from a trip to Virginia, saying that people in Baltimore are very

happy about his comments, when he tweeted out that no human would want to live in Baltimore. I'm sure that people in Baltimore would beg to differ.

Also, saying -- and doubling, tripling, quadrupling down on his initial comments, saying that living in Baltimore is like living in hell. We'll

have more on that -- in fact, as I told you earlier, we have a Donald Trump supporter and a member of his re-election committee, joining us on the

program in about 15 minutes.

Let's get back to that story in Italy with those two American teens accused of repeatedly stabbing an unarmed police officer over, we believe

potentially, a botched drug deal. Isa Soares has been following this story and she joins me now with more.

And I saw the picture today, which was released by authorities, of the knife --

SOARES: Yes.

GORANI: -- that the -- the alleged murder weapon.

SOARES: And it's a seven-inch knife --

GORANI: Right.

SOARES: -- which Finnegan Elder, who is the 19-year-old, admitted to killing the police officer, stabbing him 11 times: colon, stomach

intestine, piercing all those, all the way to the spine, this is what we heard from the prosecutor.

This weapon, he said, came from the United States. He brought it from the United States, on his way. This is what Elder, Finnegan Elder actually

said.

We don't know how he did it, but what he did say is, he killed him in self- defense. He said the police officer approached him, put his hands around his neck, almost trying to suffocate him, and then he acted in self-

defense.

The prosecutor spraying cold water on this was a "Stabbing him 11 times, that is not self-defense." Adding, in addition, that there were no marks

around his neck to suggest that.

Now, both Finnegan Elder as well as Natale, the 18-year-old, both have said that two police officers who approached them did not say they were

Carabinieri, did not say they were police officers. They were in plainclothes, did not say that.

Police, prosecutors saying a very -- telling us a very different story, Hala. So -- and what we've seen and what we've heard from prosecutors,

these two individuals who were friends from high school, being kept in a prison in Rome, notorious prison in Rome, in separate cells. And what

we've heard is that they're turning on each other --

GORANI: Right.

SOARES: Natale's saying that he had no idea that Elder actually was carrying the knife. What we do know is that they ran, then, to the hotel

room and they hid the knife under the ceiling tile.

GORANI: Right.

SOARES: And at that point, it had been cleaned.

GORANI: And there was some CCTV footage, as well, released --

SOARES: Exactly.

GORANI: -- of them running away?

SOARES: And that -- what we saw -- what we've seen that today, police, prosecutors saying that they used that CCTV image to prove, to show,

connect the dots that they were involved. But they ran with the rucksack to the hotel. The hotel, from the scene where the police stopped them, it

was something like 80 (ph) meters so it was very, very close.

But lots of questions. One was, why exactly was a Carabinieri, the one who was stabbed 11 times, why was he not carrying his gun? He was off-duty.

If he was off-duty -- his (ph) day had just finished --

GORANI: Yes, yes.

SOARES: -- why wasn't he carrying his gun? Why did he get sent to the area --

GORANI: Right.

SOARES: -- when we were told the four other patrol teams were there? So I think this is the beginning. But we know that they could be held up to a

year if no charges are put (ph). So six months, or a year.

GORANI: My question is, where are the parents? So we'll see if we hear from them.

SOARES: Yes.

GORANI: Isa, thanks very much.

[14:19:56] Isa Soares. Still to come tonight, another legal case involving an American abroad. It's the court case in Sweden that has grabbed

attention internationally, and all the way up to the Oval Office. The first day of rap star A$AP Rocky's trial is coming up. We'll be right

back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The trial of A$AP Rocky got under way today in Sweden with a "Not guilty" plea from the rapper. The case has gotten international attention,

with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing support for the rap star.

A$AP Rocky is accused of assault in a June street brawl. Nina dos Santos is following that trial. And similarly to the case of Italy, we also have

footage, street footage of at least part of what happened involving the rapper.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Pretty alarming things here, I have to say. No knives involved. In fact, the supposed weapon, according

to the prosecution here, was a broken glass bottle.

But let's go back to the events that this case is centered on. So we saw A$AP Rocky and two members of his five-strong entourage, who were walking

down the streets in Stockholm on June the 30th, appear in court today. They've been in custody since July the 3rd.

They pled not guilty to charges of serious assault. This involves a street brawl that took place when allegedly, according to Swedish prosecutors,

they attacked a 19-year-old Afghan man who'd recently moved to Sweden.

Now, the reason why A$AP Rocky and his defense team claim that they deny any wrongdoing here is, they say that they -- yes, they did throw him to

the ground and they did stand on his arm -- A$AP Rocky did -- but that was to try and restrain this individual, and to keep him away from their

entourage because he had already allegedly attacked their security guard.

The prosecutors showed CCTV evidence that seemed to paint a slightly different picture, but let's just have a quick listen to the lawyer of A$AP

Rocky here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIOBODAN JOVICIC, LAWYER FOR A$AP ROCKY: He is living under dark cloud of this trial. And like always, like every trial, I can have my opinion. But

in the end, it's the court who will decide. So the future is -- I mean, very unknown to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOS SANTOS: So that's A$AP Rocky's defense lawyer there, talking about his state of mind. He's been in Sweden, in custody since July the 3rd.

A$AP Rocky's mother was also in court today. A$AP Rocky himself was wearing a standard-issue prison jumpsuit, a green top and trousers. He

appeared quite calm, according to court reporters.

But his mother appeared really distressed --

GORANI: Yes.

DOS SANTOS: -- she said that she was living a nightmare as a result of this case.

GORANI: And the Trump administration has sent a hostage negotiator?

DOS SANTOS: This was the strangest bit about what we saw. In fact, reporters and, indeed, our person inside the courtroom, noticed early on

the presence of a U.S. lawyer, but couldn't really figure out who they were.

Upon approaching him later on, it emerged that a certain Robert C. O'Brien was actually the U.S. president, Donald Trump's, hostage negotiator who's

been attending these trials. And his word to CNN was that he was there to support the members of the family and the American citizens. But he'd been

told to -- that the U.S. president wants A$AP Rocky and the two codefendants back in the United States.

[14:25:12] Now, the president has made no secret of the fact that he believes that they should be released. He's taken to Twitter to campaign

for this message. He's also made telephone calls to the prime minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven, vouching for them if they were to go on bail.

Sweden doesn't actually have a bail system, so they can't release him and they deemed them a flight risk. The trial will continue --

GORANI: Y es.

DOS SANTOS: -- over Thursday and Friday --

GORANI: So we should get a verdict at that point?

DOS SANTOS: We should. And they could be facing two years in jail.

GORANI: All right. Thanks so much, Nina.

Here in London, the Dubai ruler's estranged wife has been to a court in the United Kingdom. Princess Haya is applying for child custody and a forced

marriage protection order, according to Britain's press association.

She is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. She was educated in England, and she is involved in this dispute with the ruler of Dubai.

This is an image from her -- of her earlier today.

The pound is taking a tumble amid renewed fears that Britain will crash out of the E.U. without a deal. It's hovering around 1.21 against the U.S.

dollar after sliding to a new two-year low. The British government's talk of turbo-charging plans for a no-deal Brexit is not helping matters.

Richard Quest joins me now from New York with more.

How concerned are traders that the U.K. is serious about leaving the E.U. without a deal, something, really, a vast majority of economists, industry